IN / county FIPS 18033 / county research

DeKalb County, Indiana: environmental and disease records

Cancer mortality in DeKalb County is 172.6 deaths per 100,000 people per year against a U.S. rate of 143.2, a statistically significant excess. The strongest disease signals are Lung & bronchus deaths at 1.3 times the U.S. rate. Federal databases place 609 regulated facilities, sites and hazards inside the county, led by NPDES wastewater discharge permit (179), Industrial wastewater discharge (157), Rail grade crossing (109). EPA AirToxScreen estimates a lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics of 20 in a million, driven mainly by formaldehyde.

Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000 people. A cancer signal is marked significant when the lower bound of its 95 percent confidence interval is above the U.S. rate. Facility counts use active federal records located inside the county boundary. Approximate county center: 41.3996, -84.9985.

How this county ranks in Indiana

View on the heat map Scan an address in this county

Cancer deaths and new cases versus the United States

Source: NCI and CDC State Cancer Profiles, both sexes, all ages. Sorted by the ratio of the county rate to the U.S. rate.

Cancer rates for DeKalb County compared with the United States
Cancer	Measure	County rate	U.S. rate	Times U.S.	95% interval	Years
Esophagus	New cases	10.8	4.6	2.35xSignificant	7 to 16	2019-2023
Esophagus	Deaths	6.4	3.7	1.73x	3.6 to 10.6	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	New cases	70.4	51.8	1.36xSignificant	61 to 81	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	Deaths	5.9	4.4	1.34x	3.4 to 9.7	2020-2024
Lung & bronchus	Deaths	38.6	30.2	1.28xSignificant	31.6 to 46.7	2020-2024
Kidney & renal pelvis	New cases	22.4	17.9	1.25x	16.9 to 29.2	2019-2023
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	Deaths	5.9	4.8	1.23x	3.3 to 9.7	2020-2024
Leukemia	New cases	17.6	14.5	1.21x	12.7 to 23.8	2019-2023
All cancer	Deaths	172.6	143.2	1.21xSignificant	157.2 to 189.2	2020-2024
Pancreas	New cases	16.2	13.9	1.17x	11.8 to 21.7	2019-2023
Brain & nervous system	New cases	7.2	6.2	1.16x	4.2 to 11.5	2019-2023
Leukemia	Deaths	6.6	5.7	1.16x	3.9 to 10.7	2020-2024
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma	New cases	20.9	18.5	1.13x	15.7 to 27.4	2019-2023
Stomach	New cases	7.2	6.6	1.09x	4.2 to 11.6	2019-2023
All cancer	New cases	480.9	453.4	1.06xSignificant	454.5 to 508.6	2019-2023
Melanoma of the skin	New cases	24.5	23.8	1.03x	18.7 to 31.7	2019-2023
Pancreas	Deaths	11.5	11.3	1.02x	7.9 to 16.2	2020-2024
Bladder	New cases	17.8	18.7	0.95x	13.1 to 23.8	2019-2023
Liver & bile duct	New cases	6	8.7	0.69x	3.4 to 9.8	2019-2023

Mortality measures versus the U.S. county median

Source: County Health Rankings, built from CDC National Vital Statistics System death records. The comparison value is the median of all U.S. counties.

Mortality measures for DeKalb County
Measure	County	U.S. median	Difference	Unit
Premature death	8,444.7	9,842.6	-14%	years of life lost before age 75 per 100,000
Life expectancy	75.8	75.3	+1%	years
Child mortality	59	59.8	-1%	deaths under age 18 per 100,000
Infant mortality	n/a	6.2	n/a	deaths under age 1 per 1,000 live births
Injury deaths	72.7	96.9	-25%	deaths per 100,000
Drug overdose deaths	16.1	28.6	-44%	deaths per 100,000

Air toxics and air quality

EPA AirToxScreen 2020

Lifetime cancer risk from outdoor air toxics: 20 in a million. EPA treats 100 in a million as the upper end of acceptable risk and 1 in a million as the goal.

Formaldehyde15.68 per million
Carbon Tetrachloride2.95 per million
Acetaldehyde1.5 per million
Benzene1.05 per million

EPA Air Quality Index

No EPA air quality monitor reports daily AQI for this county.

Regulated facilities, sites and hazards by type

609 active records inside the county from EPA ECHO, TRI, Superfund, Brownfields, NPDES, EIA, FAA, FRA and corrections data.

NPDES wastewater discharge permit179
Industrial wastewater discharge157
Rail grade crossing109
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI)26
Combined sewer overflow outfall24
TRI reporting facility22
Gas station (mapped facility)20
Air permit holder (minor source)17
Major air pollution source11
Small hazardous waste generator11
Large hazardous waste generator10
Brownfield property7
Hazardous waste transporter4
Public airport3
Auto repair or body shop (mapped facility)3
Large greenhouse gas emitter2
Commercial airport1
Dry cleaner (mapped facility)1
Heliport1
Solar power plant1

Highest-severity records

The 25 records with the highest Envyrofax severity in the county, with the agency identifier to cite in a records request.

Steel Dynamics Incorporated, Butler
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $49,563.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000592396 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 9.9
Therma-Tru Corp, Butler
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Certain glycol ethers, Diisocyanates, Zinc compounds. Reports carcinogens. 800,231 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46721THRMTREJON (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 9
Contitech Usa Inc., Auburn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene, Xylene (mixed isomers), Ethylbenzene, Zinc compounds and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 356,590 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46706CPRND725W1 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.8
Nucor Vulcraft Group Saint Joe Div, Saint Joe
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, Manganese, Chromium, Nickel and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 261,375 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46785VLCRFCTYRD (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.7
New Millennium Building Systems Llc, Butler
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Certain glycol ethers, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Manganese, Nickel and 1 more. Reports carcinogens. 118,844 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46721NWMLL6115C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.4
Steel Dynamics Inc-Flat Roll Div, Butler
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Zinc compounds, Manganese compounds, Xylene (mixed isomers), 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 103,748 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46721STLDY4500C (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.3
Heidtman Steel Products, Butler
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $42,000.
EPA FRS registry ID 110071092230 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8.2
Ashley Industrial Molding Inc, Ashley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Styrene, Zinc compounds. Reports carcinogens. 49,778 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 47405GLPCH320SW (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 8.1
Contitech Usa Incorporated, Auburn
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $6,200.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000400094 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 8
Nucor Building Systems, Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, Manganese, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 22,273 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46793NCRBL305IN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.8
Brightmark Plastics Renewal Indiana Llc, Ashley
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Propylene, Ethylene, n-Hexane, Benzene and 4 more. Reports carcinogens. 12,793 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4670WRSPLY324W8 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.7
Therma-Tru Corp. - Butler, Butler
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $9,400.
EPA FRS registry ID 110041987838 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Heidtman Steel Products Inc., Butler
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Hydrochloric acid (acid aerosols including mists, vapors, gas, fog, and other airborne forms of any particle size), Manganese, Chromium, Nickel. Reports carcinogens. 9,331 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4672WHDTMN44CUN (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.5
Steel Dynamics Incorporated, Butler
Major air pollution source. Penalties $49,563.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000592396 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.5
Aludyne N.A. Llc (Auburn), Auburn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Copper, Nickel, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 6,379 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46706CNTCH1200P (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.4
Nucor Vulcraft Group Saint Joe Div, Saint Joe
TRI reporting facility.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000747906 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.3
Metal Technologies Auburn Llc, Auburn
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001135833 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7.2
Nipg Waterloo, Waterloo
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Diisocyanates, Lead. Reports carcinogens. 2,205 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 4679WNPGWT35IND (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 7.1
Steel Dynamics Incorporated, Butler
Large hazardous waste generator. Penalties $49,563.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000592396 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Steel Dynamics Incorporated, Butler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $49,563.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000592396 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 7
Fxi Inc. - Auburn, Auburn
Toxic chemical release facility (TRI). Chemicals: Toluene diisocyanate (mixed isomers), Diisocyanates. Reports carcinogens. 1,122 lbs released over 5 years.
TRI facility ID 46706RVSBRCR427 (U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory)
Severity 6.8
Contech Us, Llc, Auburn
TRI reporting facility. Penalties $500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110010302939 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.8
Steel Dynamics Incorporated, Butler
Large greenhouse gas emitter. Penalties $49,563.
EPA FRS registry ID 110000592396 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.5
Metal Technologies Auburn Llc, Auburn
Major air pollution source. Penalties $500.
EPA FRS registry ID 110001135833 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3
Butler Wwtp, Butler
NPDES wastewater discharge permit. Penalties $3,374.
EPA FRS registry ID 110003127642 (U.S. EPA ECHO) Agency record
Severity 6.3

Correctional facilities

Prisons, jails and corrections operations with an EPA facility record, and the drinking water and wastewater compliance attached to them.

No correctional facility with an EPA record is located in this county.

Discovery / public records

Records to request for DeKalb County

Indiana state cancer registry
Cancer incidence counts by census tract or ZIP code, by cancer type and year (de-identified). Any cancer cluster inquiries or investigations in DeKalb County, and their findings.
Indiana vital statistics office
Death certificate counts by cause of death and residence tract or ZIP code, and the years behind the mortality measures above.
Indiana health department, environmental epidemiology
Health consultations or assessments by ATSDR or the state health department covering the county, and any exposure investigations.
Indiana environmental agency and the U.S. EPA regional office
Compliance history, inspection reports, notices of violation, penalties and enforcement actions for each facility above, cited by EPA FRS registry ID.
Indiana drinking water program
Violation notices, sampling results and sanitary surveys for the public water systems serving the county, including any system serving a correctional facility.
Department of corrections or county sheriff
Water testing, grievances and environmental health inspections for the correctional facilities listed above.

Each Envyrofax address report includes a printable records request worksheet with the custodian and the exact request wording per finding.

Scan an address in DeKalb County View on the heat map All Indiana counties